Line #49 VideoGame/ChuChuRocket


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/chuchu_rocket.jpg]]
2
3	''[=ChuChu=] Rocket!'' is a multiplayer video game by Creator/SonicTeam for the Platform/SegaDreamcast, later adapted for the Platform/GameBoyAdvance and for iOS devices. The object of the game is to (for the most part) put little space-[[WesternAnimation/MickeyMouse mickey-mice]] thinggies into four different-colored rockets to get them away from [=KapuKapus=], i.e., cats. Basically it's a game of cat-and-mouse, [[RecycledInSpace IN SPACE!]]
4
5	According to the ExcusePlot, there are four individual pilots for the rockets:
6	* Chuih, a [=ChuChu=] with a blue astronaut suit and stars in his eyes, pilots the blue rocket.
7	* Chubei, an abnormally large [=ChuChu=] with a yellow spacesuit, pilots the yellow rocket.
8	* Chubach, a thin, green [=ChuChu=] with swirly eyes ([[OpaqueNerdGlasses apparently glasses]]), pilots the green rocket.
9	* Chupea, a red female [=ChuChu=] with a heart-shaped tail, pilots the red rocket.
10
11	The game employs arrows on a giant checkerboard that are to lead the [=ChuChus=] to the rockets. You get three arrows—no more, sometimes fewer. Occasionally the [=KapuKapus=] will show up and use the same arrows you placed to follow the [=ChuChus=] and eat them (this is actually the point of one of the mini-games). It gets much harder when you realize that the [=ChuChus=] go so [[GoshDangItToHeck dang]] fast that it's almost impossible to even '''see the dang things moving around'''. And that's assuming you're playing by yourself—it gets a lot more complicated when you use multiplayer (arguably the whole point of the game's existence) and there are four sets of three arrows littered over the board, which could potentially lead a [=KapuKapu=] to eat your [=ChuChus=].
12
13	In 2019, [[SequelGap the long-awaited sequel]], ''[=ChuChu=] Rocket! Universe'', was released for Platform/AppleArcade, though it was eventually [[KeepCirculatingTheTapes delisted]].
14
15	----
16	!! Tropes associated with ''[=ChuChu=] Rocket!'' include:
17
18	* AllThereInTheManual: The [=ChuChu=] Pilots don't actually appear in the game, but their rockets do—the only way you know of their existence (other than their [[TheCameo cameo]] appearances in Sega crossovers released long after the game came out) is through the manual.
19	* ArtificialStupidity : Even though they're [[TheComputerIsACheatingBastard faster than humans]], the {{Artificial Intelligence}}s in the Platform/GameBoyAdvance port sometimes place arrows incorrectly. For example, if the goals are close together, it may place arrows to direct cats or mice to the wrong rocket.
20	* AscendedExtra: The Chuchu Pilots Chuih, Chubei, Chupea and Chubach are seen only in the manual, but appear later in ''[[VideoGame/SegaSuperstars Sonic & SEGA All Stars Racing]]'' and ''VideoGame/SegaHeroes''.
21	* AutomaticLevel: Several levels in the GBA version's User Puzzle list clear themselves. Some have arrows to pretend there's a puzzle to solve, but others have none and end the second you press the R button.
22	* BagOfHolding: Inverted with the rockets, to some degree. Played straight with the holes the [=ChuChus=] come out of.
23	* BaitAndSwitch: Any time you're presented with several arrows to use but then you realize the solution is either obviously doable with just a few or the level is actually automated.
24	* BraggingRightsReward: Clearing a puzzle with less than the available arrow plates awards the player an "Excellent" message.
25	* CatsAreMean: And orange.
26	* ColorCodedMultiplayer: Player 1 is blue, Player 2 is yellow, Player 3 is red, Player 4 is green.
27	* DisneyVillainDeath: Kapus being set up to just run straight into a hole is a common gag in puzzle levels.
28	* EscortMission: The general goal is to guide mice towards rockets with arrow plates.
29	* ExcusePlot: The 'plot' of this game is to play as four unseen [=ChuChu=] Pilots to get away from giant mutated cats. You soon forget this.
30	* GameLobby: The game had this feature. Matches were pretty quick in that game.
31	* Instant180DegreeTurn: Normally, if you hit a wall, you turn right (or left if no right turn is possible), but if you reach a dead end, you make a 180. You can also force an instant turn using arrows. Mice happily turn around, but the arrows only work twice on cats for a 180.
32	* LastLousyPoint: The GBA version has a total of ''2500'' puzzles from the Dreamcast version's user base. There's at least a hundred among them that will give you a ton of trouble should you want to solve them fair and square.
33	* LawOfOneHundred: Some challenge levels require you to rescue 100 mice (or [[InstantWinCondition let you win]] if you lead the CPU player by that many). Coincidentally, there's a maximum of 100 mice allowed on the playing field at once.
34	* LevelEditor: A fully-featured one exists in both the Dreamcast and GBA versions. In the Dreamcast version, the editor is only for Puzzle Mode levels, while the GBA version's can also create custom levels for the 4P and Team battle modes as well as Challenge Mode.
35	* MakeMyMonsterGrow: If a Kapu Kapu eats 50 Chu Chu or instantly snags a Golden Chu Chu, it suddenly grows. If it eats another 50, it [[YourHeadASplode blows up]].
36	* NoodleIncident: Several User levels present a gag only the author would have known the meaning of. For example, puzzle 3W16 is named "TOO LATE" and is followed by one named "ROBERT" that depicts a face.
37	* [[OneBulletAtATime Three Arrows At A Time]]: Challenge or versus modes.
38	* ProgrammingGame: In Puzzle Mode, the only effect you have on the game is to place the arrows at the beginning of each level. Once you tell it to start, you can only watch what happens.
39	* RemixedLevel: Puzzles which are edits of previous ones are common. In particular, "Get Together!" in the Mania group is turned into the final puzzle, "Panic!!". In the User selection, there is at least one variation of it... and puzzle 3Y05, "HARDLEVEL 10 [='''''''=]", which is a ''straight ripoff'' of "Panic!!" that got past the curators. It is missing a Chu, but otherwise everything is set up exactly like in the original.
40	* RiddleForTheAges: Where do the [=ChuChus=] GO in their rockets anyway?
41	* RunningGag: Several User puzzles's names are a pun on the word "amazing".
42	* SchizophrenicDifficulty: The User collection in the GBA version ranges from effortless levels to complex ones which rely on the engine's quirks to be solvable.
43	* ShoutOut:
44	** A few puzzles either in the standard game or in the User collection reference Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog.
45	** Puzzle 3A12 in the GBA version is named "Power Wisdom Courage" and depicts the [[Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda Triforce]].
46	** A trio of back-to-back User puzzles is named after band Earth, Wind & Fire.
47	* TimedMission: Each Stage Challenge needs to be completed in 30 seconds.
48	* TitleDrop: User puzzle 4H23 is called "Chu Chu Rocket" and has the title and a rocket drawn on the board.
49	* TrialAndErrorGameplay: Some puzzles are barely puzzles and others are intuitive enough. Others require a ton of experimentation to figure where to start and adjustments to make the Chus sprint past gaps in Kapu lines correctly.
50	* UnintentionallyUnwinnable: The first level of ''[=ChuChu=] Rocket! Universe'' has no left arrows, making it impossible to beat, and therefore making the entire game unplayable. This is likely the reason it was delisted.
51	* VillainShoes: The C and E challenge stages revolve around the [=KapuKapu=] and require the player to either kill all the [=ChuChu=] or eliminate all the mice from an enemy rocket during infinite "Cat Mania" while deflecting them from their own.
52	* AWinnerIsYou:
53	** Clearing the Stage Challenge or Puzzle modes just awards you with a Staff Roll.
54	** In the Platform/GameBoyAdvance version, beating all 2600 puzzles will make a message from Sega appear after the credits. It tells the player to send a letter to them in order to get a gift. This message only appears [[ItOnlyWorksOnce once with no way to review it without erasing all progress]], and is probably worth nothing nowadays.
55	* WrapAround: Characters will wrap around the edges of the board. In particular, a Chu and a Kapu will miss each other if they wrap around the screen at the same time. It can take a lot of trial and error to perform this trick on puzzles that revolve around it.

Context VideoGame / ChuChuRocket